Spark plug electrodes having satisfactory corrosion and erosion resistance are conventionally produced by welding a noble metal pin, for the most part made of platinum or iridium base alloys, onto an electrode base body. The electrode base body is developed from a base metal. Due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion of the noble metal and the base metal, mechanical stresses occur along the welding seam, which reduce the mechanical stability and thus the durability and loading capacity of the spark plug electrode.